Banks have safe deposit boxes as a *favor*?

[hitchbend]

My bank doesn't offer safe deposit boxes. (At least not at the branches near me.)

So I figured I rent one at another bank. But they only rent to their own customers. I could understand this policy if they rented the boxes for free, but they don't, of course. It doesn't seem that there's a shortage of boxes either--I asked.

So why do they have this policy? Wouldn't getting someone to open a box be a good first step to getting him to open an account there?

[kork13]

Originally Posted by hitchbend

So why do they have this policy? Wouldn't getting someone to open a box be a good first step to getting him to open an account there?

I think the thought process is actually opposite... Once a person has an account, they can be offered the luxury of having a safe box.

In the end, I think it's simply that banks aren't going to do anything for you until you have a deposit account (or loan) with them, because they can't re-invest what you put into your safe box as is the case with a deposit account.

[disneysteve]

My mom wanted a safe-deposit box. She went to a bank near her that had them (where she didn't have an account). They had one fee for non-account holders and a much, much lower fee for account holders. All she had to do was open an account and keep $100 in it to get the lower fee, so that's what she did. So you might want to look into that.

[hitchbend]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

My mom wanted a safe-deposit box. She went to a bank near her that had them (where she didn't have an account). They had one fee for non-account holders and a much, much lower fee for account holders. All she had to do was open an account and keep $100 in it to get the lower fee, so that's what she did. So you might want to look into that.

Yeah, that's what they told me at the banks (except they want $150), but the idea really angers me. I want fewer things to clutter up my life, not more--not to mention that I'd rather they not have free use of my $150.

The way I look at it, if I go to a sporting goods store, they'll sell me a pair of shoelaces, even if I bought my shoes somewhere else. The banks around me won't even notarize something if I don't have an account there--and I'd be perfectly willing to pay them for the one-minute service! And when I try to call my local bank, it simply isn't possible: I end up getting routed to India, where, of course, they have no idea how to answer a simple question about this particular bank.

Having recently been a victim of identity theft in which two banks helped the criminal via their sloppy policies, they're not my favorite institutions. They really don't actually *do* much, charge ridiculous fees, and have little interest in service. Even the term "Bankers' hours" reflects this approach of theirs.